1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a self-defense device and in particular to chemical irritant dispenser suitable for self-defense. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a hand-held chemical irritant dispenser that is easily oriented, aimed, and actuated in crisis situations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crimes against persons, while a fact of life, are not unavoidable. Proper preparation and the exercise of caution can greatly diminish the probability that an individual will be victimized. In particular, the availability and use of self-defense devices have been demonstrated to be strong deterrents to and defenses against crimes against persons.
Perhaps the best known and most widely marketed non-lethal self-defense devices are chemical irritant dispensers that, when actuated, release an aerosol chemical irritant such as MACE.RTM. or pepper spray. Conventional chemical irritant dispensers of this sort typically comprise an elongate cylindrical housing storing an aerosol chemical irritant, a button surmounting one end of the housing that is depressed to release the chemical irritant, and an aperture in the housing through which the chemical irritant is propelled in a radial direction from the cylindrical housing. As a consequence of this construction, these conventional chemical irritant dispensers are held in a vertical position when deployed and are actuated by downward motion of the index finger of the user, much like a common aerosol can.
Conventional chemical irritant dispensers like those described above are subject to a number of shortcomings that reduce their effectiveness. First, conventional chemical irritant dispensers have in the past tended to be unsightly and bulky (e.g., 6 inches (15.24 cm) long and 1 inch (2.54 cm) in diameter). Such large dimensions make carrying the chemical irritant dispenser in a handbag or garment pocket inconvenient, and the unsightly appearance of conventional dispensers has made users reluctant to carry one on a regular basis. Obviously, the utility of a chemical irritant dispenser is vitiated if it is unavailable when needed to fend off a would-be assailant.
Second, conventional chemical irritant dispenser are difficult to actuate under duress due to the awkward safety devices that are often provided to prevent accidental discharge. For vertically-oriented chemical irritant dispensers with top-located actuator buttons, the safety device typically takes the form of a plastic or leather strap covering the actuator button and/or obstructions to the downward travel of the actuator button that require the actuator button to be rotated before it is depressed. Such elaborate safety measures may be desirable when the dispenser is not being used in order to prevent accidental discharge, but present a significant hurdle to rapid use of the dispenser. The difficulty of quickly disengaging such safety devices and actuating a vertically-oriented chemical irritant dispenser was recognized by U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,581 to Parsons, which described a chemical irritant dispenser having a thumb-operated swiveling safety lock. However, actuating Parsons' chemical irritant dispenser still requires two distinct movements of the thumb--rotation of the swiveling safety lock and then depression of the actuator button--which require significant dexterity and are difficult to accomplish while under duress.
A third drawback of conventional chemical irritant dispensers is the difficulty in aiming them. As also noted by Parsons, vertically-oriented chemical irritant dispensers are difficult to orient and aim. As a result, when under stress, an individual may improperly orient the aperture of the dispenser, missing an assailant and possibly even spraying himself or herself. Parsons attempts to address this problem by providing a chemical irritant dispenser that intended to be held in the palm of the hand, with the fingers curled around the cylindrical housing and the thumb axially depressing an actuator button located at one end of the housing. This hand position naturally tends to cause the user to actuate the dispenser with his or her upper arm approximately parallel with the ground and forearm substantially vertical, sighting along the length of the housing. This body position is not instinctive, does not provide a broad range of firing positions due to the physiology of the arm and hand in that position, and therefore does not adequately address the shortcomings of conventional vertically-actuated chemical irritant dispensers. Moreover, both Parsons' dispenser and conventional vertically-oriented dispensers encourage firing positions close to the user's face and/or eyes in order to comfortably actuate and aim the dispensers. Needless to say, it is preferably for the user to release the chemical irritant as far away as possible from the user's face.
To address and overcome the foregoing and additional shortcomings in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved chemical irritant dispenser that is compact, easy to actuate, and can be quickly, comfortably, and accurately aimed under duress in an instinctive manner and body position.